variants
or less commonly shtetel
plural shtetlach
ˈshtet-ˌläḵ 
ˈshtāt-
also shtetels
: a small Jewish town or village formerly found in Eastern Europe
Examples of shtetl in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On the one hand, as Tevye is fond of saying, the story unfolds in a hardscrabble shtetl in the Ukrainian plains in the months leading up to the Russian Empire’s abortive 1905 revolution.
—
David Lyman, The Enquirer, 25 July 2025
Informers in the shtetl were wicked, and Jews who prayed, studied, fasted, were honest, and gave to charity were considered righteous.
—Isaac Bashevis Singer, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
The banal village tunes that Mahler altered into sinister mock vulgarities—did these not recall the raffish klezmer bands, the wandering musicians who played at shtetl weddings?
—David Denby, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2025
Foer’s novel, and its 2005 film adaptation, is about the Jewish author’s journey to Ukraine in search of the woman who saved his grandfather’s life during the Nazi liquidation of the family shtetl.
—Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2025
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David Lyman, The Enquirer, 25 July 2025
Informers in the shtetl were wicked, and Jews who prayed, studied, fasted, were honest, and gave to charity were considered righteous.
—Isaac Bashevis Singer, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
The banal village tunes that Mahler altered into sinister mock vulgarities—did these not recall the raffish klezmer bands, the wandering musicians who played at shtetl weddings?
—David Denby, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2025
Foer’s novel, and its 2005 film adaptation, is about the Jewish author’s journey to Ukraine in search of the woman who saved his grandfather’s life during the Nazi liquidation of the family shtetl.
—Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shtetl
Cite this Entry
“Shtetl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shtetl. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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